Question on Gen 1:6

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Glenn Dean
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Joined: Tue May 26, 2020 6:28 pm

Question on Gen 1:6

Post by Glenn Dean »

Hi:

Here's Gen 1:6:
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֔ים יְהִ֥י רָקִ֖יעַ בְּת֣וֹךְ הַמָּ֑יִם וִיהִ֣י מַבְדִּ֔יל בֵּ֥ין מַ֖יִם לָמָֽיִם
In the verse we see the word וִיהִי. It has the waw consecutive and is Qal Jussive 3ms. But I would of expected וַיְהִי (just like in verse 1:5, but in 1:5 it isn't the Jussive but the 'normal' imperfect).


Glenn
Refael Shalev
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Joined: Tue Sep 22, 2020 12:07 pm

Re: Question on Gen 1:6

Post by Refael Shalev »

Hi Glenn

I think it's because of the accent that falls on the waw.
There is a little vertical line called "meteg" מתג that indicates a secondary accent.
Watch how the words are accentuated: ויהי-בקר (without the bar in the bible) בקר the accent falls on the first syllable there for the accent withdraws in ויהי.
In hebrew it's calld נסוג אחור =withdraw back (the accent).
Refael Shalev
ducky
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Re: Question on Gen 1:6

Post by ducky »

Hi Glenn and Refael,

the two ויהי represent another "tense".

So the W in the ויהי in 1:6 is a regular W (just like any other W that is written with Sheva)

But here, since the vowel of the letter Y of ויהי is already with Sheva
יְהִי
and then, we expect that the prefix W would come also with Sheva (as regular).

Then in this case of Sheva-Prefix-W before a Sheva-Y --->
the W is voweled with Hiriq, and the Y looses its vowel and becomes silent.

****
Read the translations for this verse and for 1:5, and see the differences of the ויהי in the verses.
David Hunter
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Jason Hare
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Re: Question on Gen 1:6

Post by Jason Hare »

The word here is a regular vav with the jussive יְהִי. When you put those together, you get וִיהִי.‎

וְ + יְהִי ← *וְיְהִי ← *וִיְהִי ← וִיהִי
"and may he/it be" (conjunctive vav + jussive)

Remember that you cannot have two vocal shevas side-by-side. One will resolve into a full vowel, usually a chirik, which is what happened here. When yod finds itself in the position with chirik before it and sheva on it, it becomes a vowel letter. The same thing happens in phrases like:

בְּ + יְהוּדָה ← *בְּיְהוּדָה ← *בִּיְהוּדָה ← בִּיהוּדָה
מִ​◌ּ + יְרוּשָׁלִַם ← *מִיְּרוּשָׁלִַם ← *מִיְרוּשָׁלִַם ← מִירוּשָׁלִַם

Notice that "from Jerusalem" also shows the dropping of the dagesh due to the "Skinemlevy" rule. That is, when any of the letters {שס}קנמלוי (sin/shin, samech, nun, mem, lamed, vav, or yod) have dagesh and are followed by a sheva, they will tend to lose the dagesh. This is also what happens in words like מְבַקְשִׁים in which the middle radical is normally doubled (מְבַקְּשִׁים), but it regularly drops out with a Skinemlevy letter.

So, the word in question is not vav-consecutive (which has patach and dagesh with the vav). The vav-consecutive works like this instead:

וַ​◌ּ + יְהִי ← *וַיְּהִי ← וַֽיְהִי
"and he/it was" (vav-consecutive)

The yod normally loses the dagesh due to "Skinemlevy."
Jason Hare
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יוֹדֵ֣עַ צַ֭דִּיק נֶ֣פֶשׁ בְּהֶמְתּ֑וֹ וְֽרַחֲמֵ֥י רְ֝שָׁעִ֗ים אַכְזָרִֽי׃
ספר משלי י״ב, י׳
Refael Shalev
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Re: Question on Gen 1:6

Post by Refael Shalev »

Hi all
Glenn ignore my reply I confused with another subject David and Jason answer correctly.
Refael Shalev
Glenn Dean
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Re: Question on Gen 1:6

Post by Glenn Dean »

thanxs everyone!! Thanxs also for bringing "back to my memory" that "no word can start with two shevas" (but I didn't remember that ha-ha, nor what one does when you have that situation).

OK, so that's a normal "conjunction" and NOT a waw-consecutive - it makes sense now.

Glenn
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